Picks: Big Jesus, Fenix TX, Oathbreaker

If you’re coming on the Picks ride with us this week, you’d better be ready for the long haul. Either side of Fenix TX’s return we’ve plumped for albums that couldn’t sound much more unalike, but do share a common thread: they don’t listen easy, but they’re very rewarding. And by way of a bonus, why not check out the new album from God Damn too?

Fuzzy, geeky rock bands with a somewhat spaced-out character and songs that blend into an amorphous reverie are in fine fettle in 2016. One we’ve had our eye on for a few months is Big Jesus, the Atlanta outfit whose debut album Oneiric was released today. It’s a record that probably needs to catch those of us of a heavier disposition in the right mood, but its poppy demeanour is backed up by dirty sonics, deft songwriting and real substance. Single ‘SP’ and ‘Floating Past You’ are highlights, but it’s ‘Heaviest Heart’, the closing track, that steals the show. Its melodic root grows and grows, creating a towering seven-minute composition.

Hi. Chris here. I’ve loved Fenix TX since I was a teenager and there’s nothing you, they or anybody else can do about it. Nevertheless, I really didn’t know what to expect from Cre.ep, their first recorded outing for fully 15 years. And I like that I don’t really know what to make of it now I’ve heard it. ‘Spooky Action At A Distance’ drew me in from the very beginning and ‘Bending Over Backwards’ is the most energetic, accomplished pop punk tune of the year. But the old Fenix TX quirks are there too, and ‘Church And State’ in particular might take some getting used to. But, because of my bias, I’m seeing that as a positive. Welcome back, you grubby sods.

Sometimes you listen to a record and it only takes a couple of tracks before you’re unable to break what you’re hearing into anything smaller than a single work. Oathbreaker’s third album, Rheia, is mesmerising. Talking about individual songs doesn’t get close to doing it justice; suffice to say it’s a ghostly, expansive and artistically worthy album full of beauty and intensity. It ranges from melancholy to maniacal and it’s structured brilliantly. At 63 minutes long, this isn’t an album you can experience in the background. Sit down and listen to it, though, and you’ll get as much from this as any record of its kind this year.

Send us your sounds: picks@thisdecay.com

Don’t forget: you can buy WAVE’s debut EP The First Wave digitally, or as part of a Limited Edition physical run, from our Bandcamp page.